Production of fiber articles



Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES MEYRL M. FROST, F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PRODUCTION OF FIBER- ARTICLES.

No Drawing. Application filed July 15.

The present invention relates to the production of articles of compressed fibrous materials and particularly to a process of producing such articles and the articles produced 5 thereby. 7

Among the objects of the invention is an article of manufacture which is extremely compact, tough, Waterproof and capable of taking an excellent finish.

Other objects will readily appear to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following description.

Heretofore, such articles of manufacture as chair or toilet seats, -doors, boxes and the like 1 havebeen usually made of wood pieces glued or otherwise secured together. Wood has been considered the only suitable material be.- cause of its plentifulness and also because of its low heat conductivity. However, due to its property of absorbing moisture, it is difiicult if not impossible to build up an article, such as a toilet seat, from pieces of wood glued together and have the pieces adhere perman'ently.

The present process produces an article that is not built up of pieces but is of homogeneous composition, waterproof and has all of the advantageous properties of wood.

The process is carried out by first forming a fluent pulp .of fibrous material, such as ground wood pulp or pulp of rag fiber. waste paper, hemp, jute, or even asbestos. To this pulp, having preferably from 4 to 20 per cent solids, is added rosin soap up to per cent of the total solids. This mixture is agitated thoroughly and pumped into suitable dies where the water is expressed and the article formed under a pressure, depending on the article to be produced, up to about 600 pounds per square inch.

Theformed article is then removed fromthe die and dried and rough finished if neces, sar

l lt fter the drying step the articleis then dipped in yellow molten sulfur and allowed to remain a short time, say from 3 to 10 minutes or longer if necessary to allow the sulfur, which is quite fluid, to impregnate it to some extent, after which it is allowed to cool. If it is desired to completely impregnate. the article should remain in the sulfur both for a considerable period. The thus treated article is then painted if desired, and is ready to be marketed. 1

Instead of rosin soap, other adhesive materials may be used and among these are water 1927. Serial No. 206,134.

and submerging for a short time is sufficient for ordinary purposes but, if desired to impregnate deeply pressure methods such as are used in impregnating other porous materials may be used. Such methods consist in submerging the articles in the impregnating liquid in aclosed vessel and subjecting the liquid to high pressure or in first exhausting and then subjecting to pressure. v

The sulfur impregnation and superficial coating render the compressed fiber article entirely waterproof and there is thus produced one that is strong and substantially permanent.

Now having described the invention and the preferred form of embodiment thereof it p is to be understood that the said invention is to be limited, not to the specific details herein set forth but only by the scope of the claims which follow.

I claim '1. The process of producing homogeneous fiber articles which consists in forming a pulp of the fiber in finely divided condition with water, mixing with said pulp an adhesive, expressing said water and molding the fiber under high pressure, drying, and subjecting the molded article to an impregnation treatment with molten sulfur involving exhaustion followed by pressure.

2. The process of producing homogeneous fiber articles which consists in forming a pulp of the fiber in finely divided condition with water, mixing with said pulp rosin soap, expressing said water and molding the fiber under high pressure, drying and subjecting the molded article to an impregnation treatment with molten sulfur involving exhaustion followed by pressure.

8. The process of producing homogeneous fiber articles which consists in forming a pulp of the fiber in finely divided condition with water, mixing with said pulp an adhesive, expressing said water "and molding the fiber under a pressure of up to 600 pounds per square inch, drying. and subjecting the molded article to an impregnation treatment with molten sulfur involving exhaustion followed ed article to an impregnatiomtreatment with 10 by pressure. molten sulfur involving exhaustion followed 4:. The process of producing homogeneous by pressure. fiber articles which consists in forming a pulp 5. An article of manufacture comprising a of the fiber in finely divided condition with hard tough body of finely divided organic water, mixing with said pulp rosin'soap, exfiber and rosin soap, with a coating and at 15 pressing said water and molding the fiber least a'superficial impregnation of sulfur. under a pressure of up to 600 pounds per square inch, drying, and subjecting the mold- MEYRL M. FROST. 

